Machine for treating peanuts



-March 1, 1932. H. P. VANNAH ET'AL. 1,847,318

. MACHINE VOR 'RFATTNG PEANUTS Filed Sept. 18. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l ENNLHMW 1932. HQP. VANNAH ET- AL MACHINE FOR TREATTNG PEANUTS March 1Filed Sept. 18. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet Maml'l l, 1932- H. P. VANNAH E'r AL1,847,318.

MACHINE FOR TREATING PEANUTS Filed sept. 18. 192s;`

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\ March 1, 1932. `H. VANNAH ET Al.

MACHINE FOR TREAT'ING PEANUTS I Filed Sept. 18. 1929 4 SheS'bS-Sheei 4www] @JN/@wh Patented Mar. 1, 1932 U'NiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAROLDP. VANNAH, 0F WEST PALM BEACH, AN D SAMUEL W. HOUSER, OF ST. PETERS-BURG, FLORIDA, ASSIGNORS T0 BROWN COMPANY, 0F BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, .A

CORPORATION OF MAINE MACHINE FOR TREATING PEANUTS 'Application ledSeptember 18, 1929. Serial No. w3,41'7.

This invention has for its object to provide a machine for treatingpeanut plants and for recovering separately the dried nuts, stems andleaves.

In the harvesting of eanuts, greatest economies are secured by te-utilization not only of the nuts, but of what may be termed the haywhich is rich in proteins and can easlly be made available as a cattlefood. The best results can be secured by removing the entire plant fromthe soil carrying with it the nuts which are attached by the pegs,socalled, to the aXils of the plant. Ordinarily, in the harvesting ofsuch crops, the pulled plants are permitted to dry a few hours on top ofthe ground and then for a month,l more or less, in stacks builtaroundppoles set in the fields, untilthe nuts are "c11red-meaning,become dry and conditioned for prolonged storage, without deterioration.Simultaneously, the stems and vines become .cured in the same sensealso, although the quality of the hay is not homogeneous from harvestmonth to harvest month or from year to year. It usually occurs, however,that by the time this cured\ condition is secured, the pegs are then insuch a dry and brittle condition that the nuts can be separated from thedry vines. This procedure, however, is exceedingly wasteful, and it isnot thereby made -possible to conserve to -the best advantage the stemsand the leaves.

The growth of peanuts is distributed more particularly in those areas inwhich occur frequent rains during the period of harvesting. field-dried,the leaves, which contain a greater proportion of protein than thestems, become mildewed and rot and are lost. Fodder produced fromfoliage subjected to these conditions lacks the green color and thenutritious elements which are desirable in-cattle foods.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for thedesiccation ofthe peanut plantsand the recovery of the nuts and the vineand foliage, under conditions which ensure that the filial productsshall have substantially a constant moisture content, the skins, whichsurround the kernels,

Consequently, where the plants arev shall not be shrivelled and broken,the shells shall be uninjured, and the leaves and stems shall be in acondition so that they may be utilized in the production of a nutritiousfodder, characterized by green color.

In growing peanuts in the Everglades region of Florida, a difficultyencountered in completing the harvest of the Apeanut crop is thecontinued excessiveI moist-ure of the vines, due to the frequent andheavy rains while the peanuts are curing in the ordinary method of usingstacks, as a result of which, should one dry the plants by that method,the stacks plants are wetted, over and over, the leaves drop from thestemsand if they do not fall on to the ground and become lost thereby,they remain as lnildewed or rotted material throughout the stack. y

By reason of experimentation and practical experience ithas been foundto be possible to conserve practically the entire plant and to ensurethe production -of practically perfect shells having therein kernelsenclosed in unbroken and unwrinkled skins and having a predeterminedmoisture content of say 10% and at the same time to recover the stemsand vines with a maximum protein content and with a predeterminedmoisture content of say 10%, without the presence of rot or mildew.Unless this is accomplished, commercial values are lostin raising peanutcrops in such regions as are found in the Everglades lands in Florida,and yet, on the other hand, such regions lend themselves moreparticularly to the growth of peanuts having a high oil content in thekernel and a high protein content in the stems and foliage and a highpoundage for each acre. One of the reasons why these lands have beeneconomically unproiitable in raising peanut crops has been due to thelack of proper methods and machinery for utilization when the crops areharvested.

The drying of the plants, including the' stems, leaves and nuts, by amachine drying process in place of the ordinary method of using stacks.presents a diiicult problem. It is not practical or feasible to separatethe nuts from the plants while they contain the moisture contentcharacteristic of the plants 10 integument or skin, the removal of themoisture content without causing a wrinkling or breaking of the skin isnot easy of accomplishment. Moreover the hulls should not be broken orinjured and the skins should not l5 be broken, as otherwise the kernelsquickly become rancid and unfit for use.

Not only is one of the objects of the present invention the recovery ofthe nuts and vines, as has hereinbefore been pointed out, but anotherimportant ob'ect of the invention is to effect it rapidly aneconomically without subjecting the plants, after they have been drawnfrom the earth, to the action of the elements. Ordinarily in harvestingthe crops, particularly when the peanuts are grown in mucksoil, aquantity of muck remains 1n adherence to the nuts, and it is much more ydiicult to remove it after the soil is dry in the. form of a crust thanwhen it is in its moist natural condition. A

Various driers have been proposed to be utilized in connection withcrops of a grassy nature, including alfalfa and the like, but they areinapplicable for use in the case of the peanut lant. Speaking generally,the procedure w ich is followed in the practice of the who e plants to apartial desiccation, suiicient however, to make the pegs brittle enoughto allow the separation o the nuts from the remainder of the plant. Thisis accomplished by conducting the plants through a chamber to which isdelivered heated air, preferably in counter-current flow-to the plants,so that in a given time the object is accomplished. Then, by means of asuitable threshing machine to which the whole (plants are delivered, thenuts are separated an the greater portion of the leaves removed from theremainder of the plant, which then comprises the stem and the roots. Atthis point, the leaves which have been separated are in a condition tobe immediately ground together with previously obtained dryvines androots, and they impart to the finished fodder product a. desirable greencolor. The nuts and the stems to which the roots are still attached arethen desiccated under different conditions oir moisture and temperature.The desiccation of the stems to a point where they containsubstantially7 10% moisture may be rapidly y' accomplished. This maybedone at a higher temperature than that to which the whole vines andnuts are subjected; On the other hand, the nuts must be subjected to arelaresent invention is first to subject th'e tively low temperature inproper humidity conditions, for a relatively long time, to permit thegradual removal of the moisture, be-

fore they are dehydrated to a point where the notwithstanding the factthat the time factors for the whole plants, the vines and the nuts mayvary greatly. For example, the initial dehydration may be accomplished,using the proper temperature, in a period of about 1 to 11/3 hours, moreor less, stems may be desiccated in 20 minutes, and the nuts require aperiod of from 4 to 6 hours. The apparatus, which is preferably used forthe dehydration, comprises an elongated drying chamber which is dividedinto horizontal zones by partitions, so that in each zone there may bearranged to travelV a suitable form of conveyor upon which is spread thematerial undergoing drying. By causing the drying medium, that is theheated air or the products-of combustion, to travel through the drier inone direction and then through the different zones in the oppositedirection, or by moving one conveyor in one direction and the'V othersin different directions, to secure counter-current flow of the materialand air through. the drying chamber,-hot air from a single heater may beemployed. There is an advantage in utilizing the air which has beenemployed in drying the whole vine for -dehydrating the nuts, inasmuch asit is possiblel to secure thereby proper vconditions of hunudity in ltheair to which the nuts are subjected. A

There will be hereinafterdescribed a particular condition which foroptimum results should be present in each oi the various zones orcompartments of the drier.

In -most cases it is preferable to subject the whole plant to a washingoperation with water for the removal of the soil which is adherent tothe leaves` roots and nuts. This .may be accomplished by arranging atank at one end of the drier, into which the plants as brought in fromthe fields may be dumped and `from which the washed plants can vbeconveyed to and arranged in a fairly thick mat on the conveyor on whichthey are distributed and carried through the drier to the thresherarranged at the other end of the drler. Any convenient means may beutilized for ensuring a fairly thick layer of the plants upon theconveyor or carrier, this being facilitated in a measure by the factthat the plants carry considerable free water with them and they aresuiciently heavy to Aform a mat of the desired. depth or thickness. Onthe other hand, the layer is, to a` nuts may be delivered from thethresher directly to the carriers, by which they are retransportedthrough the drier and subjected for the proper length of time to thedehydrating temperatures and-humidity. The stems, after being dried to apredetermined moisture content, are fed, together with the dried leavesfrom the stacker, into a grinder, so as to be thoroughly admixed andground together to form a cattle fodder. Such fodder, as produced fromthe muck lands of the Everglades, carries a protein content as high as24% and furnishes a palatable and nutritious food for cattle. To suchfodder, of course, is added such other ingredients as salt, molasses andthe like, as are necessary for binding the mass together and to furnishthe other necessary ingredients of cattle fodder. v

Referring once more to the dehydration of the nuts, the removal of themoisture must of necessity be gradual, and that which is contained inthe kernel must pass out through the skin or integument by which it isenclosed and also through the fibrous hull. This must be accomplishedwithout permitting con# densation of the moisture within the hull. Ifthe kernels are subjected to high heat, they tend to swell and thuscause a rupture of the skin with the subsequent wrinkling thereof as thekernel contracts, after the removal of the moisture content. The hulls,on the other hand, give up their moisture quite readily because of theirporous, fibrous structure. Optimum conditions for effecting drying ofthe nuts require initially a relatively low temperature with a highdegree of humidity, followed by an increase in temperature and adecrease in humidity. These conditions are Amet in the drier which isherein illustrated for the purpose of practicing 4the present invention.It may be stated in general that substantially the temperature of 110 F.and a relative humidity of approximately is maintained in one end of thedrying chamber, and the temperature is GII , to approximately 50%.

gradually raised to approximately 130v to 140 F., with a decrease inrelative humidity Of course, in any event it is essential that thetemperature should be kept so low as not to parch the nuts. Temperatureswhich we have stated, however, are subject to modification, dependentupon whether or not the nuts are to be used for table purposes or forseed. In the latter case, it is necessary that the temperature should beso ,low as not to affect the germ,

which must not be over F. until the moisture of the nuts has beenreduced to 15% when it may then be raised to 140o F. and when themoisture has been reduced to 12% the temperature may be raised to 160oF. and when the moisture has been reduced to 10% the temperature may beraised to 150 F.

On the accompanying drawings are shown' more or less conventionally anddiagrammatically an apparatus embodying our in,

v-ention.

Flgures 1 and 1a represent a longitudinal section Athrough theapparatus.

, Figures 2 and 2a represent a plan View of the same.

Figure 3 represents a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, at thedelivery end yof the nut conveyor.

Figure 4 represents a transverse section on the line 4 4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 represents an end view of the apparatus.

Figure 6 represents a portion of on of the conveyors, such as may beemployed.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a transfer device :which assists in mattingthe plants on a conveyor.

Figure 9 represents a portion of a slotted guide plate which also stripsthe vines from the transfer device.

Figure 10 illustrates one of the swinging bailies, which are employed inthe heating chambers.

Figures 11 and 12 illustrate movable louvres such as are employed forcontrolling` the passage of air into and out of the drying chambers, andthe means for operating them. Figure 18 represents on a small scale aside elevation of the entire apparatus.

Figure 14 illustrates conventionally means for reducing the stems torelativelyv short- It should be pointed out initially that, be`

cause of its size, the apparatus has been shown conventionally` and moreor less diagrammatically, and no attempt has been made to show thevarious parts or instrumentalities in their relative sizes or in detail,as th esepmay be varied according to circumstances or to the location ofuse of the apparatus.

At* some convenient point there is located a source of heat, which maytake the form of a furnace of any suitable construction and adapted forany convenient suitable fuel.

5 This furnace is for the purpose. of affording a volume of heated airand gaseous products of combustion, for use in effecting the dehydrationlof the various portions of the peanut plants. By suitable conduits,blow- 1 ers, etc., a stream of hot air, tempered or moistened asdesired, is caused to travel through the various chambers wherein arelocated the conveyors for the whole plants, thc nuts and theA stemsrespectively. Again, there is a suitable thresher, so located as to .yreceive the partially dried plants, to separate the nuts from the stemsand leaves and to deliver the nuts, leaves and stems separately soV thatthe nuts and stems may be further 9 dried. Any suitable commercialthreshing machine may be used for this purpose, together with thenecessary conveying apparatus.

Referring first to 'Figure 13, the furnace is indicated conventionallyat 20 and the thresher at 21. At the end of the apparatus opposlte thethresher is indicated at 22 a washer for removing loam or soil from theplants and especially from the nuts. Between 4the washer 3 and thethresher, and indicated as a whole at 23, there is a long casing of alength of many feet. This casing is divided longitudinally by horizontalpartitions into three long tunnels or drying chambers, one of which,since it is used for finally drying the stems, may be, if desired, muchshorter than the others. Figure 13 also shows various air conduits,blowers, etc. which will be referred to in thc following description.The casing is made 4u of any suitable materials and is preferablyinsulated to prevent loss of heat,'but, since a wide choice is affordedof materials for this purpose, it is unnecessary to describe the wallconstruction in detail. l The three tunnels or drying chambers areindicated at 24, 25 and 26, alforded by the horizontal parallelpartitions 27 and 27a. In the intermediate chamber there is an endlessconveyor 29 to which'are delivered the whole plants. This projectsthrough the en- 1, to receive the plants from a conveyor 30 after theyhave beenyvashed. The conveyor 29 is formed of any suitable open-workorv foraminous material through which air may be passed, such. forexample as shown in Figure 6. Closely meshed poultry wire of suitablestrength, braced by cross bars as at 31 and connected to sprocket chains32, may be employed for the purpose. Longitudinal bands of belting ormetallic ribbons 33 may be employed for strengthening the wire fabricand affording means for securing the sprocket chains thereto. But, ofcourse, an'y other xitably constructed conveyor of open meshconstruction may be employed in lieu of that described. This conveyor ispreferably provided with teeth or pronofs or the like to engage theplants, such as those formed by the serrated cross bars 34. The conveyoris supported by suitable spaced sprockets 321 andl rolls 322 throughoutits length, and power is'I applied from a suitable source to one or moresets of the sprockets to cause the conveyor to be moved at the desiredspeed through its tunnel. At the receiving end of the conveyor there isa spiked conveyor 30, previously referred to, which removes the plantsfrom a tank or receptacle 35 -to which they are delivered when broughtin from the field. 30 Power is applied to this conveyor from a suitablesource. vIt is conventionally shown as supported by the rotary members36, 37, 38 to travel in a substantially triangular path.

If desired, the tank may contain a pool of 35 water, but ordinarily thewater and sludge which collects therein is drained away through theoutlet 39. As the' plants are picked up by the spiked conveyor andcarried in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1 90 they. are washed byjets of water delivered from a plurality of nozzles conventionally 1illustrated at 40. .Any suitable number of nozzles for the purpose areemployed .and Water is delivered thereto under the necessary pressure towash the adhering'soil from the plants.

A suitable transferring mechanism is employed for the plants from theelevating conveyor 30 to the drying conveyor 29. This 1C@ may be made inany desired form, not only to act as a transfer device, but also toassist in matting the plants on the conveyor 29 to form a matted layerof suitable thickness thereon. The transferring 'device is more 135 orless conventionally shown as a whole at 41 and comprises a roll 42rotated by suitable means, and having a plurality of spring fingers 43(see Figures 7 and 8) to engage the plants in proximity to the roll.37,to strip 1L'- them from the spike conveyor 30 and to pass them under aslotted guide and pressure plate 44 (see Fig. 9). The conveyor 30travels at a higher rate of speed than the conveyor 29, and

- the transfer roll rotates at a sufficiently high trance end of thetunnel as shown in Figure speed to canse the spring fingers to removethe plants and pack them between the conveyor 29 and the guide andressure plate 44. A mat of plants is thus fbrmed on the slowly moving`drier conveyor 29 and is car- 120 ried thereby through the tunnel orelongated chamber to the thresher 21 located beyond the exit end of thechamber.

The thresher, as has been stated, may be of any suitable commercialtype. It is conven- 123 ticnally shown in Figure 18 as having a slattcdbed 45, through which the separated nuts pass into a hopper 46 andthenceto a conveyor trough 47 havingv therein a worm conveyor 4S. Picker rollsof the ordinary 130 lbers or tunnels for this purpose.

construction, as conveniently shown at 49 (Figure 18), separate thestems, leaves and nuts, the nuts passing through the slatted bed 45, thestems being delivered to a choppin roll 49a;v and a bed roll 50 (seeFigure 14, y which instrumentalities they are cut into short lengths),and the leaves being blown out by a winnowing fan 51 and delivered to amill 52 by which they are ground or comminuted.

The stems and particularly the nuts require further drying, and they aredelivered to conveyors and passed through drying cham- The stems, whichhave been denuded of nuts and leaves, are deposited from the cutters toan endless openwork or'foraminous carrier 53, which passes through thelowermost drying tunnel or elongated chamber 24. Since a higher dryingtemperature is used, this tunnel is relatively short as shown in Figure1, and the dried stems are shown therein as being delivered to thehopper 54 of a suitable grinding mill'55, which is conventionallyillustrated. Of course, instead of providin two mills for the leavesyand stems, one mill, to

which both elements of the plant may be delivered by conveyors to beground together, may be provided.

The nuts which are delivered from the stacker are transported from thedelivery end of the conveyor trough 47 by an endless bucket conveyor 56or other suitable form of elevator' to a distributing instrumentality orspreader indicated at 57. This is conventionally shown as comprising aslotted hopper provided with a worm 58 see Figure 17) which causesthenuts to be fed along the semi-cylindrical bottom of the hopper anddelivered to and uniformly ,spread upon a conveyor 59.

This conveyor is of openwork or mesh con-v struction with meshes of suchsize that the small nuts will not pass through it. This belt orconveyor, like the other drying belts hereinbefore referred to, issuitably braced and strengthened,v and is connected to sprocket chainstracking on suitably spaced sprockets (indicated conventionally at 60),

of which one or more sets are rotated from any suitable source of power.The conveyor is moved at slow speed, so that the nuts will be subjectedto the drying atmospherefor a relatively long time, say 3 to 5 hours,while the carrier for the stems is moved at a much higherspeed. In fact,the tunnel for the stems may be so short and the speed of travel ofthestems maybe suiciently rapid that,

with the relatively high temperature of the minutes.

drying atmosphere, the stems may be treated for a short period of time,say 20 to 30 Upon the conveyor for the nuts, the latter may be depositedin a layer of, say, 2 inches; whereas on the whole plant conveyor themat may be from 8 to 12 inches, more 0r less, in

lthe right.

thickness. At the delivery end of the nutdrying tunnel 26, the conveyor59 may deliverthe nuts to a suitable hopper 61 and thence to areceptacle 61a.

From the description thus far given, it will be noted that the acting orsupporting stretches of the conveyors 58 and 59 move to the left inFigures 1, la, and the supporting stretch of the intermediate orplant-carrying conveyor moves in the opposite direction or to By thisarrangement, and by reason ofthe described movements, it is possible tocause a current of air to travel through the three tunnels in series incounter direction or flow to the direction or iow of movement of theconveyors and the materials carried thereby. Since the stems may besubjected to the highe t temperature, the furnace-heated air isdelivered to the exit end or left end of the lowest or stem-dryingtunnel, and, after passing therethrough, may be passed to the deliveryor right end of the intermediate er plant-drying tunnel, and, aftertraversing the latter, may be delivered tothe left or delivery end ofthe highest or nut-drying tunnel, in a continuous stream, and yet alwayspass the materials being dried in a counter-current direction. Of coursethere should be a flexibility of control of the temperature of thedrying atmosphere. That is, it should Abe possible to increase ordecrease the temperature of the air passing through any one ofthetunnels, by tempering it with cool air, or by mixing hotter airtherewith; and we have indicated conventionally or diagrammaticallymeans for accomplishing this. Likewise suitable baies should be providedfor causing the stream or streams or air to pass through the materialson the several conveyors, and fans or blowers may be used where neededto secure the desired flow and/or admixture of hot and cool air. Again,there are certain economics which may be effected by returning a portionof the warm air to the furnace to be reheated.

The furnace 20 has a stack or conduit 62 for hot Yair and gaseousproducts of combustion which delivers the heated atmosphere to thedelivery end of the lowermost stemdryingltunnel 24 as shown in Figure 1.A fan or blower 63 is conventionally shown in dotted lines, Figure 1,for ensuring a constant stream of the heated: atmosphere. Suitabledamper-controlled ports 64 are provided in the conduit to admit cool airin advance of the fan, to ensure that the temperature of the atmospherewhen it enters the tunnel will not be excessive. Near the extreme end ofthe tunnel 24 and in the parj tition 27 there is a larger port 65 forthe exit of the air, and this is contro'lled by a louvre-damperindicated as a whole/at 66, which may be operated by any suitablemechanis'm, such as a slidable rack 67 having teeth to engage pinions 68on the `ends ofthe louvres 69 (see Figs. 11 and 12). It is desirablethat the current of air should travel in a tortuous course and passupand down through tlie stems on the conveyor 53, and

5 staggered baiiies of any suitable kind are provided for this purpose.They may take the form of rolls 322 below the upper stretch of theconveyor, on the same shafts as the operating sprockets 321; and ofiexible members 70 depending from the horizontal artition 27, and havingtheir lower free e ges provided with rolls 71, if desired, (see Figure10) resting upon the stems on'the conveyor. In lieu of these two formsof baiiles, any others which will serve the purpose may be employed. Toprevent the stems from being blown from the conveyor as it passes thedelivery end of the conduit 62, an open fabric belt 72 mounted onoperating rolls 73 may be located in the tunnel 24, immediately over thedelivery endof said conduit and spaced over the conveyor 53. When thestream of heated air and gaseous products of combustion enters vthedelivery end of tunnel 24,it passes and repasses 1n a. tortuous coursethrough the stems on the conveyor 53 and then enters the tunnelimmediately thereabove near the delivery end of the plant conveyortherein with the temperature substantially diminished.

The/tunnel 25 for the whole plants is likewise provided with staggeredbaies 7 5, 76 substantially like those located in the tunnel below it,to cause the stream of air to follow a tortuous path and pass and repassthrough the matted vines or plants on the conveyor 29. In addition,there may be located between the stretches of the conveyor a plate 77extending longitudinall of the tunnel and from side to side thereo tokeep the stream of air close to the under face of the upper stretch. Itis necessary, or at least desirable, to cause an additional quantity ofair to be passed into the intermediate tunnel either for cooling orincreasing the temperature of the main current of air. Suitable orts inthe side of the tunnel are rovide with which are connected va ved ,mbranch pipes 78 leading from a manifold 89 located on one side of thecasing and supplied with cool air by a fan or pump 80 through a conduit81. On the other side of the casing there is a manifold 82 having valvedbranch Apipes 83, and supplied with hot air through A a conduit 8 4leading from the main hot air conduit 62. lThis conduit 84 may have asuitable number of damper controlled ports 86 for-admitting externaltempering air. By these means, the streamy of air entering theintermediate tunnel maybe augmented, and its/temperature raised orlowered at different polnts or lines along the travel of the conveyorvtherein. Near the entrance end of the l tunnel or chamber 25 there is alarge port f' 87 witha louvre'damper 8 8, substantially like thatpreviously herein described, which permits the passage of air therefrominto the uppermost ldrying tunnel or chamber through which the nuts arepassed.

As thus far described, it will be seen that the hot air, after leavingthe lowermost tunnel at the entrance end thereof, enters the deliveryend of the intermediate tunnel, wherein, as it travels through thelatter, passes in counter-current direction to and through the mat ofvines orr plants on the conveyor in the intermediate tunnel and isdischarged into the delivery end ofthe uppermost tunnel or dryingchamber, wherein it is utilized to drv the nuts. By reason of itscontact with the freshly pulled plants, particularly when they have beensubjected to a washing operation, the stream of air in the intermediatechamber -25 is charged with more or less moisture, which conditions itfor drying the nuts. But in the nut-drying chamber or tunnel 26 it isdesirable to effect a iexible control of the temperature and humidity ofthe stream of air thereon. The latter may be augmented by hot or coldair respectively by valve-controlled branch pipes supplied with hot orcold air as the case may be. For cold air there is a manifold 89supplied from the conduit 81, and having valved branch pipes 90 leadingto ports in the side of the tunnel 26; and for hot air there is amanifold 82 with valved branch pi es 92, and supplied by the conduit 84(see ig. 4). The ports in the side walls of the tunnel 26 communicatewith hollow stationary baies 93 extending between said side walls andhaving numerous slots or apertures 93a Ssee Fig. 4) for the emission ofthe air de ivered thereto. These baiiies may be supplemented along theconveyor by additional baffie plates 94 likewise located above the upperor operative stretch of the nut conve or 59. Below the last-mentionedstretch of t e conveyor are baiiies 60,-i. e. the rolls on which theconveyor rests. To increase the humidity of the air in the upper tunnel,there may be one or more openings through the partition 27a whichseparates the tunnels 25, 26, as indicated for example at 95, providedwith louvredampers to permit the entrance of warm moist air from theplant-drying tunnel into the nutdrying tunnel intermediate the endsthereof. In the top wall of the nutdrying tunnel there are vent ports 96controlled by dampers or valves 97, and communicating with an exhaustpipe 98 leading to the furnace 20 below the fire therein or vented tothe atmosphere if desired. Fans or pumps indicated at 1,00 are shown as-lo cated in the exhaust pipe to Withdraw the tail air from thenut-drying tunnel, and to ensure the maintenance of a constant stream ofair through the three tunnels or drying chambers. It may be here statedthat the intermediate or plant-drying tunnel may also be connected, atintervals, with the exhaust for causing a stream of heated air to iowpipe 98 through dampers, or valve-controlled pipes 101, to remove someof the air therefrom. It ,will be understood that the number andlocation of the vents leadin from thc tunnels to the exhaust, or ventplpe 98` may be varied as desired, and also that, by means of the valvesor dampers controlling the inlet ports for the hot, cold and/or humidair, and the vent or discharge ports, it is possible to maintain thetemperature and humidity conditions which are required in thethreedrying chambers. Thus, by the control thereby afforded, a stream ofrelatively humid air at the desired relatively low temperature may becaused to pass in counter-current How to the nuts which areslowlyconveyed through the uppermost tunnel 26, and dry them to asubstantially constant moisture content of substantially 10%.

The machine as thus described is capable of many changes andrefinements, and has been shown in itssimplest form.

The conveyors should be made suitably strong to sup ort the Weight ofthe materials carried thereV ','and, if desired,'they are provided withrolls 104, see Figure 6, to travel along rails or guideways (not shown)on the tunnels and thereby support the stretches thereof.

As has been previously stated, the invention which forms thesubject-matter hereof,

is capable of various embodiments., and various equivalents may beemployed for the instrumentalities which are conventionally illustrated.

In general, the temperature of the air stream orcurrent as it passes insequence through the stem-drying, plant-drying and nut-drying chambersor tunnels, and the speed of travel of the plants, stems and nuts`through the chambers or tunnels, are so regulated and controlled thatthe pegs are sufli- -ciently dried to permit the easy separation of thenuts, stems and leaves, with the leaves in a sufficiently dry condition,the stems then dried to about a 10% moisture content, and the nutsdried' to a like moisture content, without rupturing the shells or skinsor !causing the Wrinkling of the skins or Shrivelling of the nuts.lVhile We have mentioned 10% as the desirable filial moisture content,this is not to be understood as meaning that the'predetermined moisturecontent may not be more or less as may be desired.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and the principles ofthe operation of the machine which has been illustrated and described asconstituting one embodiment thereof, Without attempting to set forth allof the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use,what is claimed is "12 AnV apparatus for treating peanuts, comprisingthree parallel elongated drying chamr bers arranged in superposedrelation, means through said chambers in sequence starting with thelowermost chamber, conveyor mechanismfor carrying the Whole plantsthrough the intermediate drying chamber, means for carrying separatednuts and stems through the upper and lower chambers respectively, andinstrumentalities at the end of the intermediate 4 chamber for receivingthe Whole plants, separating the nuts and the vines, and delivering theseparated nuts and vines to the upper and thelower chambersrespectively.

2. A machine for drying peanut crops, comprising in combination threetunnels arranged one over the other, means for causing a stream ofdrying atmosphere to flow sequentially through said tunnels but inopposite directions beginning with the lower tunnel, mea-ns for movingthe crop including stems, leaves, and nuts as amat through theintermediate tunnel, means for segregating the nuts from the stem andleaves at the delivery end of said intermediate tunnel, means for movingthe nuts as a layer through the uppertunnel in a direction opposite tothat of the crp, means for moving the stems as a layer through the lowertunnel in a direction opposite to that of the crop, means fortransferring the segregated nuts from the delivery end of saidintermediate tunnel to said nutmoving means in said upper tunnel, andmeans for transferring the segregated stems as a layer from the deliveryend of said intermediate-tunnel to said stem-moving means in said lowertunnel. v

3. A machine for treating peanut crops, comprising an elongated dryingtunnel and an associated endless conveyor for carrying p the wholepeanut pla-nts from the intake end to the exit end of Psaid tunnel,means for progressively segregating the nuts from the stems at the exitend of said tunnel, separate elongated drying tunnels and associatedendless conveyors for said nuts and for said stems, means at the exitend of said first-mentioned tunnel for progressively transferring saidnuts and stems to their respect-ive con-A veyors, and means for causinga single stream of heated air to ow sequentially through said stem,whole plants, and nuts tunnels in counter-current flow to the materialbeing conveyed through each of said tunnels.

v 4. A machine for treating peanut crops, comprising an elongated dryingtunnel and an associated endless conveyor for carrying the Whole peanutplants from the intake end to the exit end of said tunnel, means forWashing said Whole plants adjacent to said intake endand including aWashingbasin into which said plants may be dumped and a conveyor forpicking up said Washed plants and discharging them onto said tunnelconveyor, means for segregating the nuts from the stems at the exit endof said tunnel, separate elongated drying tunnels and associated endlessconveyors for said nuts and for said stems, means at the exit end ofsaid first-mentioned tunnel for progressively transferring said nuts andstems to their respective conveyors, and means for causing a singlestream of heated air to flow sequentially through said stem, Wholeplants, and nuts tunnels in counter-current iow to the material beingconveyed through each of said tunnels.

In testimony whereof we have afxed our signatures.

HAROLD P. VANNAH. SAMUELVW. HOUSER.

